English, Maths or Science?

Notters · Aug 25, 2015

I was asked by YouGov which I enjoyed most whilst I was at school. I was expecting a whitewash for science (particularly as it encompasses physics, chemistry and biology), so was surprised when the "live" results showed:

English 44%
Maths 23%
Science 23%
Don't know 10%

I thought everyone hated maths? I did A-level and I still wasn't a massive fan.

They also asked: "and which of the following core subjects do you think is most important for later life?"

English 47%
Maths 34%
Science 9%
Don't know 10%

Obviously we all need English in our day to day lives, but English at school was mostly English Literature wasn't it? Is that really more important than maths and science? I'm not saying any of them aren't important, but still.

KZNSeagull · Aug 25, 2015

O Level English was split into English Language and English Lit when I was a school. More emphasis on Language than Lit.

TomandJerry · Aug 25, 2015

Science....English I hated poems and maths with stupid letters and numbers!

GT49er · Aug 25, 2015

KZNSeagull said:
O Level English was split into English Language and English Lit when I was a school. More emphasis on Language than Lit.

Same here. Got both, but Language was the most important one.

Notters · Aug 25, 2015

KZNSeagull said:
O Level English was split into English Language and English Lit when I was a school. More emphasis on Language than Lit.

I suppose it was 50:50 for me (GCSE) but I've no idea what we did in the language part. I seem to recall just writing stories (which I hated).

desprateseagull · Aug 25, 2015

Liked maths. Bored with English. Scared of science- teens with bunsen burners etc, not a good mix!

Tricky Dicky · Aug 25, 2015

I found maths very easy, so I guess I enjoyed it cos I could do it. English just sort of went into my head and stayed. Loved science, though not sure how good I was at it at the time, still love it and take a big interest in all things scientific these days.

midnight_rendezvous · Aug 25, 2015

I preferred English but I'm better at maths.

KZNSeagull · Aug 25, 2015

GT49er said:
Same here. Got both, but Language was the most important one.

Notters said:
I suppose it was 50:50 for me (GCSE) but I've no idea what we did in the language part. I seem to recall just writing stories (which I hated).

I dropped Lit in the end - had to read Pride and Prejudice, Macbeth and Canterbury Tales (I did not get that far!). Not a good choice of books for a 14 year olds really.

GT49er · Aug 25, 2015

KZNSeagull said:
I dropped Lit in the end - had to read Pride and Prejudice, Macbeth and Canterbury Tales (I did not get that far!). Not a good choice of books for a 14 year olds really.

To be fair, it wasn't the whole of the Canterbury Tales!

halbpro · Aug 25, 2015

English. I'm not great at maths and while I like science I don't think it's taught very well at school, plus I was blessed with some very good English teachers at GCSE/A-Level

symyjym · Aug 25, 2015

If you get a an English teacher, like I did at junior school, who teaches the rule "i before e except after c", you are more inclined to feel slightly dyslexic and even detached from the written language during the schooling years. It's the sort of teaching that damages potential.

jonny.rainbow · Aug 25, 2015

symyjym said:
If you get a an English teacher, like I did at junior school, who teaches the rule "i before e except after c", you are more inclined to feel slightly dyslexic and even detached from the written language during the schooling years. It's the sort of teaching that damages potential.

Which alternative spelling strategies would you recommend?

Herr Tubthumper · Aug 25, 2015

Maths for me, and I went on to study it. It's a fascinating subject and can be very abstract at times.

But as for maths, English and science I'd say they're all important.

symyjym · Aug 25, 2015

jonny.rainbow said:
Which alternative spelling strategies would you recommend?

It's not a strategy, it's misleading. Where is the benefit of teaching a false rule?

Stumpy Tim · Aug 25, 2015

I really enjoyed Maths, until I reached degree level - I dropped Maths as a subject after one week on the course... changed to straight Economics.

Always hated science with a passion, and never really enjoyed English much. I sometimes think I should have enjoyed English as I like reading & I enjoy writing. Unfortunately we had a teacher who all my mates really liked, but I thought was an alcoholic bell-end... one of those teachers who was more interested being cool than being a teacher. I heard he had a breakdown a few years after I left school

Looking back, it's all about the teacher. My Maths teachers were excellent, but my Science & English teachers were average/poor

Gullflyinghigh · Aug 25, 2015

English is the clear winner for me, enjoyed both English Literature and English Language at school, carrying them on to A-level.

It would almost have been the perfect subject for me except I was made to read some utter toss at times, such as The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Mind-numbing dross with a message as subtle as having your face mashed with a brick.

I will concede that I never liked Maths, though this is likely due to my own innate laziness. I suspect I'd enjoy it now.

Science was alright but I really do believe that it's down to the teacher as to how much you get out of it/enjoy it. I had a succession of appalling chemistry ones, who managed to somehow make explosions dull. Biology was great fun and Physics was interesting but I couldn't relate to it that well at the time (see 'Maths' above).

Notters · Aug 25, 2015

jonny.rainbow said:
Which alternative spelling strategies would you recommend?

A
agreeing
albeit
Alzheimer's
atheism
B
beige
Beijing
being
C
caffeine
concierge
D
deicide
deify
deign
deindustrialize
deity
disagreeing
dreeing
dreidel
E
eight
either
F
Fahrenheit
feign
feisty
foreign
foreseeing
forfeit
freight
G
geitost
gesundheit
H
heifer
height
heinous
heir
heist
herein
I
inveigle
K
kaleidoscope
keister
L
lei
leisure
M
madeira
meiosis
N
neigh
neighbor
neighbour
neither
O
obeisance
onomatopoeia
P
peine
protein
R
reign
reignite
reimburse
rein
reindeer
reindustrialize
reinforce
reinstall
reinvest
reisolate
reissue
S
safeish
scarabaeid
schlockmeister
science
seeing
seignorial
seine
seismic
seize
sensei
sheik
skein
sleigh
sleight
sovereign
stein
surfeit
surveillance
T
their
theism
therein
V
veil
vein
W
weigh
weight
weir
weird
wherein
whereinto
X
xanthein
Z
zeitgeist
zootheism

DavidinSouthampton · Aug 25, 2015

English all the way.
I quite enjoyed Maths, and was quite good at it.
Hated Science - mostly because it was badly taught in the "good old" Grammar School Days where I was

jonny.rainbow · Aug 25, 2015

symyjym said:
It's not a strategy, it's misleading. Where is the benefit of teaching a false rule?

Yes, I think we've established you don't see its worth.

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English, Maths or Science?

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